Sunday Stealing

Coronavirus Questions

In the past year have you–

1. Gone without a bra? Not unless I was in my pjs.

2. Skipped making your bed? Haven't made my bed regularly since my mom gave up on trying to make me.

3. Ordered groceries to be delivered? Yes

4. Cooked a real meal? Yes, but not well.

5. Spent the day in pajamas? I actually had covid. I think I spent five weeks in my pajamas.(Anyone who tells you covid is "just the flu" is not your friend.)

6. Skipped shaving your legs? Yes.

7. Spent hours on Instagram or Pinterest? No

8. Eaten in a restaurant? Less than 10 times in the last year. I miss it.

9. Skipped washing your hair? Not more than two days. Even when I was sick, I tried to shower. It reliably makes me feel better.

10. Not folded the laundry? No. I did go weeks without doing laundry when I was sick, but if I do wash my clothes I always fold them right away.

11. Worked a puzzle? No. Though I have two right here. My friend Kathy loves to do puzzles and so she sends them to me. She means well. This reminds me: I must call her. (And when things open up a bit more, I'll take the puzzles to Goodwill so someone else can enjoy them.)

12. Had Zoom calls? I work on Zoom. I worship on Zoom. My movie group meets on Zoom. My friend Joanna prefers Zoom to the phone. So yes, I've had Zoom calls.

13. Written letters? Yeah, but I did that before the pandemic.

14. Binge watched a TV show? Yeah, but I did that before the pandemic, too.

15.Gone barefoot? Yeah, but guess what: I did that before the pandemic, too. I'm just a barefoot, binge-watching letter writer!

 

February Blog Challenge -- Day 20

 

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20) What do you need today (not what do you need to do today)? What is one way you can give yourself some extra self care today?

I'm going to treat myself to carry out all weekend (as weather permits). I have been eating out of my refrigerator and pantry because I'm trying to save money ... and because we should try to stay home during this pandemic ... and because of the snow and cold. But I really am a terrible cook, who is even worse at clean up. I need to do this for myself. I need to feel sun on my (masked) face. I need to look at a menu and choose something yummy. I need to not scrub the George Foreman grill.

Saturday 9

 Saturday 9: Cry (1952)

1) In this song, Johnnie Ray assures us we'll feel better if we cry. Do you agree? Usually.

2) He also mentions waking from a dream, believing it was real. Has that ever happened to you? No.

3) Because this record was such a massive hit, Johnnie Ray was nicknamed "The Prince of Wails." Without looking it up, do you know who is currently the Prince of Wales? First of all, Prince Charles is Prince of Wales. Second of all, GAWD! This record is awful. I can't get over that it was a hit. But it was #1 for weeks!

4) To cash in on the success of this single, 20th Century Fox cast Johnnie Ray in a big-budget musical, There's No Business Like Show Business. Today it's best remembered as a Marilyn Monroe movie. Have you seen many of Marilyn's films? I think I've seen them all. (Tip: Avoid River of No Return.)  

 

See her final, unreleased performance

If you're really a fan, watch this. It's about 45 minutes of footage from Something's Got to Give, the unfinished 90-minute movie she was fired from. The bosses said she was late too often (she was) and that she simply wasn't any good anymore. See for yourself. I think she was adorable and the studio bosses were just tired of her expensive shenanigans. They were in for a surprise when they tried to replace her and Dean Martin quit, exercising a clause in his contract that gave him co-star approval. No Marilyn, no Dean. So they hired her back, but she died before they could restart. 

 

PS The movie was eventually finished with Doris Day and James Garner and retitled "Move Over, Darling." 

5) After graduating from high school, Johnnie worked at low-paying jobs, including bus boy and soda jerk. He found he made better tips when he began playing piano in restaurants. Have you ever worked for tips? Back in my long-ago high school days, I got tips on top of what I charged when I was a babysitter.

6) In 1969, Johnnie was in the news a lot again because he performed with Judy Garland during her European tour and was best man at her wedding to Mickey Deans. Tell us what you wore to the most recent wedding you attended. For my niece's wedding last fall, I wore a long cranberry velvet jacquard jacket over a matching knit top and black leggings. It was literally the only time I dressed up in 2020.

7) In 1952, when this song was a hit, Mr. Potato Head made his debut. It was the first toy advertised on television. What TV commercial have you seen recently? Broadway Joe wants us to get all the medicare benefits we deserve!

8) Also in 1952, chlorophyll was all the rage for banishing bad breath. Colgate led the way by adding it to their toothpaste. Do you use gum, mints, mouthwash, or breath strips? I brush my teeth throughout the day, so I don't usually use these.

9) Random question -- Congratulations! You won a free three night/two day weekend for two in Las Vegas! The weather is predicted to be sunny and 65º each day you're there. It's 12:00 noon on your first day. Are we most likely to find you: a) gambling in the casino or b) having breakfast in bed or c) outside, enjoying the sun and the sights? Outside! Definitely outside. First of all, Las Vegas is best place ever for people watching. Secondly, it's been so cold here and I'm so sick of being cooped up!

February Blog Challenge -- Day 19

  

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19) What are the most important characteristics in a friend. Do you have those qualities?

On the 14th, I wrote: "I am available to those I love. I'm here. Call me. I will try my best not to let you down."

That's what I want in a friend. That's what I try to give my friends.

February Blog Challenge -- Day 18

  

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18) What are you proud of yourself for today? Why?

I'm struggling with this one, because I'm writing this early Thursday morning and Wednesday wasn't an action-packed day. Nothing really stands out. So I'll go with this, even though it seems like rather weak tea...

I'm proud of my use of the USPS. Yesterday I sent a newspaper article to my oldest friend in California. Yes, I could have sent her the link and she'd get it instantly. But this way she can check out the local Chicago ads on the other side of the article. And she'll see my handwriting. My Cousin Rose and I exchange snail-mail letters all the time, and she has commented on how special it feels to actually see anyone's signature these days.

Last week I mailed a silly "thinking of you" card to Joanna. It really was kinda stupid -- that good friends are like good bras because they're supportive. (Yuk. yuk. Get it?) Still, I wanted to do it because she's been feeling blue. An old friend of hers from her hometown -- someone she's known for years and spoke to monthly -- got sick and died without reaching out to her. His mother called to let her know of his passing. She feels it keenly that she didn't get to say goodbye, and wonders if it's something she did. The card meant a great deal to her. She's mentioned it twice. I'm not sure an email or IM would have the same impact.

So I'm proud of myself for actually affixing stamps to envelopes. It sounds like a little thing, but it's not.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.  

1. What are you currently reading? The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie. A young woman, who has led a sheltered and rather sad life, finds herself the witness to a sudden death in the London Underground. A man backed away from Anne and fell onto the track and was electrocuted. A doctor in a brown business suit checks the body, quickly pronounces the victim dead, and then disappears into the crowd. After a brief inquest -- where Anne testifies but the mysterious doctor (if he was indeed a doctor!) is nowhere to be found -- the death is declared an accident. Anne's boredom with her own life and her vibrant imagination convince her that she has not seen a horror but instead an opportunity. She sets off to solve the mystery of "The Man in the Brown Suit" herself.

It turns out that Anne was right: the death was indeed nefarious and oh, so complicated by that Man in the Brown Suit. Soon she's involved in international diamond smuggling on board an ocean liner.

 

It starts slower than Christie's more familiar books. But stay with it! Once it finally takes off, you'll be hooked.

 

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved by Christopher Andersen. This is really a 365-page People magazine article. Which is fine, if that's what you're looking for. 

 

Andersen quotes intimate two-party conversations that he can't possibly verify. He concentrates on the first 34 years of John's life -- when the mother he loved was the central influence of his life -- but the last five years are wound up quickly. The results are unsatisfying, because it's during these last five years he begins his business life (George) and meets and marries Carolyn Bessette. Was he happy with his wife and his life? Was he really ready to enter politics or was he committed to George? Is it true that Carolyn was unfaithful? If it was, did John know or suspect? Was she a soulmate who struggled in the public eye? Or was she a moody manipulator? This book shares salacious stories but draws no conclusions.

So this book is readable because Andersen is a good writer, and it's compelling because John's story is downright Shakespearean. But it's not really a good biography. It's just an entertaining read.

 

BTW, there is no credible evidence -- NONE WHATSOEVER -- that John ever gave Donald Trump serious thought. Not as a fellow New Yorker, not as a friend, and certainly not as a potential President. He never wrote about him in George, as has circulated on Facebook. No one has ever been able to produce a magazine tearsheet to confirm it because it doesn't exist. The most that can be said if that they happened to sit side-by-side at a basketball game. Once. By chance.

 

JFK, Jr. was however fond of Bill Clinton and corresponded with him via fax (remember those?) during impeachment. He was reportedly less fond of Hillary, because she was interfering with New York politics when he was considering a dabble. They did not murder him.

 

I only mention this because of the way Trumpsters and the Q-Anon cult have co-opted JFK, Jr. It's silly, of course. But I guess every American conspiracy theory somehow must tie back to the Kennedys.

 

3. What will read next?  I don't know ...

February Blog Challenge -- Day 17

  

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17) I'm embarrassed to tell anyone this, but ...

I think I've seen just about every episode of the 90s Saturday morning show Saved by the Bell. I realized this on Super Bowl Sunday, when the E! network ran a marathon. I remember watching it originally from bed when I was hung over after Friday night happy hour(s). Then I watched it a lot in reruns because it was on in the laundromat when I was doing my weekly wash. 

I am not proud of the fact that I can't remember where I left my glasses, but I recall how Screech came to win "Miss Bayside High."

February Blogging Challenge -- Day 16

 

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16) What's the first thing you do every day? What's the last thing? How do these things make you feel?

First thing? After I go to the bathroom, I cuddle my cat Reynaldo and carry him into the kitchen for his breakfast. He's always so happy to see me in the morning. Last thing? I read a little or watch some light TV (sitcom reruns) until I fall asleep. These things make me feel safe and secure.

A real-life Scarlett O'Hara

“Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm…” That's the first line of Margaret Mitchell's novel, Gone with the Wind, and it applied to Margaret Sullavan. Born in Norfolk, VA, she was the Southern belle who captivated some of Hollywood's hottest men. 

She was Henry Fonda's first love. They married when very young and working together in a theatrical troupe. After two months, she dumped him for a producer who could help her career. In his autobiography, Fonda wrote of standing in the rain, looking up at the producer's apartment window and seeing his bride there. He forgave her, and almost remarried her ... but she wouldn't have him.

Then she married William Wyler. He's the legendary director who gave us Oscar winners including Jezebel, Wuthering Heights, The Best Years of Our Lives and Funny Girl. He was enthralled but she was done after two years.

Leland Hayward was involved with Katharine Hepburn when Sullavan entered his life. Hayward was Fonda's friend and manager and once he met Margaret, he couldn't resist her. They married when she found she pregnant. 20 years later, their actress/model daughter Brooke Hayward found herself alone with Hepburn, who looked her up and down and apparently still had a hard time accepting this real-live evidence of Hayward's infidelity.

Through it all, James Stewart was madly in love with her. They never slept together because Stewart had palled around with her and Fonda back in those days before they were famous -- and Fonda moved in with Stewart after she left him for that producer -- so he just couldn't do it to his buddy. But she and Stewart made movies together and forged a lasting and private bond strengthened by her calls to him -- day or night, no matter who she was married to or who he was sleeping with, she would phone him when she was sad so he could bolster her and reassure her. He was engaged to Olivia deHavilland, a much bigger star who told friends she broke it off when she realized she'd always come after Sullavan. 20 years later, Jimmy's wife Gloria told biographers that he battled deep depression after Sullavan died of an accidental overdose in 1960 at age 50.

 

According to her daughter, Brooke, at the end of her life, Margaret was most unhappy. She couldn't sleep because she was worried about her career. At 50, she couldn't play ingenues or leading ladies anymore. She was losing her hearing, which made acting onstage more difficult -- and Broadway always was her first love. Her kids were growing up and away and out of the sphere of her influence, which she could not stand. She couldn't imagine herself old, and thanks for pharmaceuticals, she didn't have to.

 

She's on my mind because I watched her today in The Shining Hour. She played the plain girl whose husband is falling for the superglam Joan Crawford. I have no doubt, though, that off screen Maggie could steal any of Crawford's men. Her forehead is too big and round and her nose is too sharp; she's short and her legs aren't great ... and yet in real life, every man she ever wanted fell in love with her! 

 

 

I'm fascinated and repelled by her. Of her 17 movies, I've seen only two. I hope TCM shows more of her work. I'd like to judge her more for her craft than for her willful and kinda crappy personal life.

 

 

February Blogging Challenge -- Day 15

  

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15) What is something other people think is fun that you would NEVER do? Why not? What would happen if you did it?

Wine tasting! I went to one of these events more than a decade ago. It was a fundraiser for Chicago's Field Museum and I had to get all dressed up ... to spit into a bucket. It was an interesting experience and I'm glad I did it, but I can never, ever do it again. Post-menopause, wine triggers the most violent migraines.

February Blog Challenge -- Day 14

  

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14) How do you show others love? What do others do that make you feel loved?

I am available to those I love. I'm here. Call me. I will try my best not to let you down. 

Doing something specific to me makes me feel loved. For example, my Cousin Rose got me a book of classic movie trivia. She knows that's special to me. It doesn't remotely interest her, but she knows I enjoy it. Similarly, when I had the corona virus, my friend Kathleen sent me a box filled Twizzlers and popcorn to enjoy while I watch old movies from bed. 

Sunday Stealing

 VALENTINE'S DAY

1. What is the meaning of Valentine’s Day in your country/area? What happens on this day? Here's it's also known as Accordion Appreciation Day. Those who love the accordion celebrate by playing free concerts in bars and on street corners. The rest of us do a shot of schnapps whenever we hear "Lady of Spain." I'll probably be looped by noon. Oh, I'm sorry. I was possessed by the spirit of Bud there for a moment. There's a pandemic and it's both snowing and below freezing. NOTHING is happening around here today. (Except snacking and staying under the covers.)

2. Is Valentine’s Day more for men or women? Explain your answer. I'm not sure this is a gender specific holiday. I do think, though, that in every love relationship, one partner is more into Valentine's Day than the other.

3. Do you have any special plans for Valentine’s Day? What will you do? No plans. It's literally -3º as I write this, and I'm so grateful that I don't have to leave for anything today. Church is still on Zoom! Yea!

4. Which traditional gift would you rather receive: chocolates, flowers, or a card with a personal message? Oh, the card! Definitely.

5. Is Valentine’s Day only about romantic love? Or is it a good occasion to celebrate friendship as well? It's about love in all its forms. I don't understand prigs who would insist it's only for lovers. The bonds of friendship are always worthy of celebration, too!

6. Do you like romantic movies? What is your favorite romantic movie? I looove a good movie romance. The Way We Were is my favorite, though it makes me cry.

7. Have you ever received a Valentine’s Day card or gift from a secret admirer? How did it make you feel? Not technically a Valentine. But someone did send me a love note, postmarked London (!). One side was a photo of Paul McCartney. The other said, "What was I thinking? I'll leave Linda if you say the word. Love, Paul." The signature was a pretty good imitation of his autograph. No one ever took credit. Whoever did it had to find the card, copy Paul's handwriting and then hand it off to someone who was traveling to the UK and would be willing to stamp and mail it. Unless ...

8. Is Valentine’s Day the most romantic day of the year? If not, what day is? For me, when I had a boyfriend, anniversaries were more romantic.

9. What is the most romantic thing you have done for another person? No grand gestures from this gal, I'm afraid. I remember how moved a man was when I closed a handwritten letter with Christopher Robin's words to Pooh Bear: “You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." He'd never heard it before and it touched him, so that made me happy.

10. Valentine’s Day is promoted by companies whose only interest is making money. Discuss whether you agree or disagree. As a capitalist, I find this question offensive!  Are you some kind of democratic socialist libtard? Take off your Bernie Sanders button and sit in the corner.

11. Describe your perfect Valentine’s Day date. I think it depends on the two people and their personal history.

12. How should a single person spend Valentine’s Day? What do you suggest? If there's a pandemic, and it's below freezing and snowing, that gal should stay home in her pajamas.

13. Do you enjoy playing cupid? Do you try to introduce people in the hope they will make a love match? Nope.

14. Some restaurants charge higher prices on Valentine’s Day. Are you willing to pay more to dine out on this day? The windchill today will be -20º. The coronavirus is still a very real and deadly threat. I'm not willing to do anything "out" today.

15. Is a romantic gesture more powerful on Valentine’s Day or on another day of the year? No. Love is love is love ...

 

FEBRUARY BLOG CHALLENGE -- DAY 13

  

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13) What is something you loved doing when you were younger but don't do anymore? Why did you stop doing it?

I used to be a four-season sports fan, following first the Bobby Hull/Stan Mikita/Tony Esposito Black Hawks and then the Michael Jordan-era Bulls when the Cubs weren't playing. But when individual players retired and moved on, so did I. I suppose I didn't love the sport as well as the personality.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: My Valentine (2011)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Paul McCartney sings that he won't let a day go by without remembering why he loves his valentine. What blessings are you thankful for today? My cat Reynaldo is eating like a champ and taking his medicine like a very good boy. He's an old man now, he's had his health troubles, and I appreciate our time together.

2) Paul directed the video of Natalie Portman translating his song into American Sign Language (ASL), which is the third most commonly-used language in both the United States and Canada. British Sign Language (BSL), commonly used in EU countries, is very different. Do you find it easy to learn new languages? No. I wish I had taken my high school opportunities to learn languages more seriously. Being able to speak Spanish, French or ASL would expand my world.
 
3) The song is on Paul's Kisses on the Bottom CD, for which he won one of his 18 Grammy Awards. What compliment or accolade have you recently received? I had a client refer to my work as "amazing." She meant it sincerely as a compliment, and I accepted it gratefully, but I also thought it was funny. She had no idea how difficult I'd found her project! I thought the very fact that I got it done on time was "amazing."

4) Paul is an honorary NYPD detective. He was given this designation for performing a charity concert after 9/11. Do you know anyone in law enforcement? Nope.

5) Bob Dylan has said of Paul, "I'm in awe of McCartney. He's about the only one I'm in awe of. He can do it all. He never lets up. He's just so effortless." Tell us about someone whose talent you admire. Well, I love Sir Paul and always have. But I shall mix it up a little and say Dick Van Dyke. I recently rediscovered The Dick Van Dyke Show on the Decades cable channel and he's such a delight. I didn't appreciate him when I was a little girl. He's warm and handsome and silly, all at the same time. Not many clowns are as believable as leading men. He sings and dances very well, too. Before TV fame, he won a Tony for Bye, Bye Birdie and introduced "Put on a Happy Face" (which we sang at a Girl Scout recital for our dads).

 
This is the last Saturday  9 before Valentine's Day and so this morning we shall focus on the upcoming holiday.  

 

I took this at Lolla 2015. Sigh ...

6) The holiday is also known as The Feast of St. Valentine. Do you have a special meal planned for February 14? Nope.

7) The phrase "wear your heart on your sleeve" began in medieval times. On Valentine's Day, men would celebrate the holiday by displaying their lady love's name on their sleeves. If you were going to adopt this custom, whose name would you wear? OK, here's where I'll name Sir Paul. I have loved him since I first saw him on The Ed Sullivan Show. I love him still.

8) Women buy and send more Valentines than men do. Who received the last greeting card you sent? I just mailed two "thinking of you" cards to girlfriends. One to Nancy. She's been awfully quiet on social media these days. She lost her 23-year-old son last July, and I suspect she may be missing him especially as the new year begins. The second was to Joanna. A dear friend of hers died recently. She's trying to be brave, but she's hurt. He didn't tell her he was sick, and she didn't get a chance to say goodbye. She learned of his passing from his mom.

9) Men buy and send more roses at Valentine's Day than women do. What's your favorite flower? Carnations. Fragrant, durable and available in so many colors!

 

Soon!

They're spring cleaning the ball park! So far this week they have tested the lights and spruced up the famous marquee. 

Happy Birthday, Mr. President.

Watching the impeachment hearings, listening to Trump apologists wrap themselves in my Christian faith, the above quote feels like a cleansing shower.  

I hope Nikki Haley is right and Donald Trump will become irrelevant in Republican politics.  I can't imagine any person of true faith could listen to Donald Trump address those "special people" who stormed the Capitol and left 5 people dead, telling them "we love you," and feel good.

I like the two-party system, and think Donald Trump has done long-term damage to the Party of Lincoln, which is unfortunate. I long for the days when we could discuss policy, and not whether or not it's a good thing for a President to applaud his supporters for ambushing an opposition campaign bus on the highway. If you really want to "make America great again," let your Christian faith lead you back to Abe.

February Blog Challenge -- Day 12

  

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12) Who makes you feel envious? What do they have/what are they doing that makes you feel that way? What do you think that means?

JBKO is my all-time heroine. She's my ideal. Everything she did, she did well. She was fluent in French, Spanish and Italian. She painted. She knew French and American history cold. As First Lady, she restored the White House, oversaw the original Rose Garden, gave Air Force One its iconic look, and brought the Mona Lisa to the United States for the first time ... among many other accomplishments.

She always looked good. Even when crossing the street in traffic.

She attracted the most interesting, accomplished men. Not just the two she married, but also Mike Nichols and Pete Hamill. 

She faced tragedy with guts and grace. She was fired upon in an open car and had to wipe her husband's brains and blood from her face. Five years later, her favorite brother-in-law was also murdered. She went through five difficult pregnancies in ten years, yet only brought two babies home from the hospital. Her father died of alcoholism, her mother suffered from Alzheimer's, her youngest sister died at 40 from cancer and she buried them all. 

She and her family faced an insane amount of public scrutiny and criticism. (Her husband and son have even been co-opted by QAnon! Part of what the lady herself would undoubtedly call "the river of sludge.")

Yet she kept going. She kept recreating herself. She exemplified Robert Frost's quote: The best way out is always through.

Her children loved her and did her proud. She saved Grand Central Station. She became a successful book editor. 

Isn't this enough? 

I can see in her everything I value. Courage, beauty, strength and originality. I also see in her how and where I fall short. That's why I should remember that she chain-smoked, bit her nails and shopped compulsively.

By the way, I'm in good company. You know who else was intimidated by Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis? Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace of Monaco. One of the most beautiful women to ever appear on screen, an Oscar winner who became a real-life princess, and she was jealous of Jackie, too. It galled her that no matter what she did, no matter what she accomplished, Jackie got more attention and better press.

I think all this means I have good taste, and that I was imprinted by the media I was exposed to as a little girl. I grew up on Jackie, and I've carried her with me throughout my life.

February Blog Challenge -- Day 11

  

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11) What have you been most worried about lately? Is it realistic to worry about it? Is there anything you can do about it?

Reynaldo. My skinny beige cat is 17 years old. That's approx. 84 in human years. He has an ongoing kidney condition, and now we're dealing with his overactive thyroid. 

He is happy and comfortable these days. He constantly cuddles with me (he's headbutting the screen to get my attention right now), crashes my Zoom meetings and plays with my girlcat, Connie, every day.

But I know he is in the winter of his years. I want to be sure that I make all decisions based on love, on his well being, not my own feelings. I worry about that. I am responsible to him. I must not be selfish.

February Blog Challenge -- Day 10

 

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10) Make list of everything you'd like to say "yes" to ...

Here are five things that reliably bring me joy.

1) The Beatles! I think about them all the time but especially this time of year. February 1964 is when they arrived on these shores, took the United States by storm and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" hit #1. March saw "She Loves You" ascend to the top spot. April was "Can't Buy Me Love." No other recording artists have ever dominated music the way they did. And they did it because they were upbeat, fresh and really very, very good.

Look how happy The Lads were landing in NY in Feb. 1964

2) Baseball. The commissioner promises us a full season this year. 160 games feels like the right number. Last year was just 60 games and that's not enough for me. I'm looking forward to a lot of this.

via GIPHY

3) Shopping local. There's a small independent grocery store on the other side of town that will soon be facing competition from a new chain store. They just introduced an app and delivery to help them stay relevant. I spent more shopping this way, but it's the right thing to do. Stores like this one give a community its character. I'm fortunate that I'm in a position to help them, and it makes me happy to do it.

4) Afternoon naps. When we finally go back to the office, I'll miss them. These naps feel luxurious.

5) These two. Reynaldo and Connie make me so happy.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.  

 

1. What are you currently reading? The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved by Christopher Andersen. Guess what this is about. Christopher Andersen has made celebrity biographies his stock in trade. He's written at least 5 about the Kennedys and 5 about the Royals. I've read many of them. Andersen is a good storyteller, but he treats his subjects like movie stars, not historic figures. So his books are readable, but they aren't serious. Example: Andersen constantly quotes (verbatim!) intimate conversations between two people that he cannot possibly know are accurate. It's entertaining, but, well, buyer beware. 

This biography begins with the two most iconic moments of John's life: the salute as his father's coffin passed and his death in a plane crash. If that doesn't grip you, you're reading the wrong book. It goes on to tell the story chronologically, emphasizing that, as the only child ever born to a President-elect, John was famous before he was born. As Ted Kennedy noted, "the world knew his name before he did." There's little that's new here, but it is involving.

BTW, there is no credible evidence -- NONE WHATSOEVER -- that John ever gave Donald Trump serious thought. Not as a fellow New Yorker, not as a friend, and certainly not as a potential President. He never wrote about him in George, as has circulated on Facebook. No one has ever been able to produce a magazine tearsheet to confirm it because it doesn't exist. The most that can be said if that they happened to sit side-by-side at a basketball game. Once. By chance.

 

JFK, Jr. was however fond of Bill Clinton and corresponded with him via fax (remember those?) during impeachment. He was reportedly less fond of Hillary, because she was interfering with New York politics when he was considering a dabble. They did not murder him.

 

I only mention this because of the way Trumpsters and the Q-Anon cult have co-opted JFK, Jr. It's silly, of course. But I guess every American conspiracy theory somehow must tie back to the Kennedys.

 

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Princess Bride by William Goldman. It's all here: Fencing, fighting, torture, poison, true love, hate, revenge, giants, pirates ... Everything you loved about the movie, everything you love about fairy tales and adventure stories, it's all here. 

But it's also tinged with adult resignation that touches me every time I read it. For there comes a time when -- though we may still enjoy reading about it -- we no longer expect to find fiery passion and high adventure in our day-to-day lives anymore. That's real, that's natural, and that's sad.

 

It's rare that a book can be this funny, this accessible to a mass audience, and still this touching. Read it. Read it. Read it.

 

3. What will read next?  A mystery, I think.

Prayers answered, at least for now

I recently posted about a former coworker and Facebook friend, Warren. A man in his mid-50s who lives alone, he had been partying nonstop during the pandemic, even when the bars were still closed. No social distancing, no mask. I was very worried about him.

I understood a little of what motivated him. Warren has always been very gregarious, very social, very much into sharing his life with everyone he meets. And now, with the pandemic and work from home, he's isolated. 

To exacerbate matters, he moved to Wrigleyville this year. It's the neighborhood that cropped up around my beloved Cubs' ballpark. For generations, it was kinda neglected. But then the Cubs started winning and, during this century, it's become younger, more single, and more upscale. It's a lot of bars. (I remember wandering around after a game with my then 19-year-old nephew, and I could see in his face that he thought Wrigleyville was better than Disneyland.) It's filled with rather privileged young people who are sure Covid will never happen to them. Wrigleyville is not where you go to avoid temptation.

Today Warren posted that he realized that he's been "acting like a frat boy" as he tried to escape his "fear and anxiety." I was so happy to see this! He said he's embarrassed by how he's been acting and has reached out to a local church for socially-distanced volunteer work.

I know how hard it is to turn over a new leaf, and I'm not expecting this new attitude to change his life 100% overnight. But I'm glad he sees the problem. Recognizing it is the first step to solving it.

 

Maybe you had to be there

I did it again. I closed my eyes for "a minute" after work and woke up nearly four hours later! So now I'm wide awake and have turned to my DVR for comfort and entertainment.

God, I love this movie! I haven't seen it in ages, yet I find I recall it nearly scene-by-scene. I find myself saying some of the dialog with the characters. My favorite scene is when Sam walks in on Nick watching an obscure old movie on the late show.

"What's this?"
"I'm not sure."
"What's it about?
"I think the man in the hat did something terrible." And all the men onscreen are wearing hats.

OK, maybe you had to be there.

Anyway, apparently this movie is an acquired taste. On message boards, I've learned that Millennials don't tend to like it. The characters are too rich and too self absorbed and their obsession with pot seems quaint. I get that, too. Maybe you had to be there.

PS Tom Selleck was originally supposed to be in the cast but had to drop out because he was filming Magnum PI in Hawaii and couldn't make it to Los Angeles in time. Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan tweaked the character of Sam (mustache, detective show where he drives a cool car) as a needle or an homage to Selleck. As a big Magnum fan, I really enjoy the touches.